I thought it's time to dust this old guide, since it might be usefull for newer players and we have been getting lots of those lately.

For now I have covered xp, fighting, some general concepts for beginners, communication and few extra tips.

This is not finished and will change and improve in time.

Last 3 chapters are really summarized, but I wanted to have this out before the big upcoming patch.

I will also add more about the individual maps later, as well as links to my more detailed guides on some heroes I feel I know well enough. Also the differences between playing Quick match and ranked and how to approach each.

If you have some advice you would like me to include please send it to me in a private massage.

Hi their heroes and heroets.
First I am going say I hope this helps both the new players, and those with 1000+ games, who want to improve. If you are just starting to look for ways to improve your play, this is the best place to start.

This is what I call The Golden Rules, that one must follow to be good at Heroes of the storm. That means to have good time playing, enjoy the game to the fullest, and not make your team scream in frustration at the screen. I know I have done it, and I am sure many of you have done it too.

I thought that I was a good and experienced player, like many others do, but after understanding those simple concepts I knew that I was wrong. So very, very wrong. Once I applied my new knowledge I started winning most of my games (80% or so), until I climbed the hero league ranks, and reached much more capable players.

My goal is to put in 1 place as much advice, as I can about HoTS, that will help you my dear gamer friends, to get better, increase your rank, or just have fun with friends. I never saw a summary like this, and had to learn it the hard way, so now you wont have to. I did lots of reading from lots of places. Watched numerous replays. And basically did the wrong thing long enough, to understand my mistakes and how to fix them.

There is 3 types of knowledge. The things you know, that you know. The ones you know, that you don't know. And those you don't know, that you don't know. Plenty of people make beginner mistakes even with lots of games behind them, simply because they didn't know they are making a mistake, and no one actually told them. I was one of those people not that long ago, and I am sure that most of you will find something useful here.

This is not about specific heroes builds, but rather understanding of the basic concepts of the game. That is much more important and will let you win much more often. Knowing what to do, and when to do it makes huge difference. Having the "right" build is useless, if you don't know how to use it.

There are misconceptions and often made mistakes. With every rule I try to point a mistake, explain why it is wrong, and offer a guiding rule, you can use. I also add some helpful information for you. At times there can be some personal input.

Most of this I have found in other sources, but It was some time since that, and I have lost most of the links. I am writing according to memory but some external links might be added if I have the time to search and find more detailed information on specific subject.

Get experience to win. OK this sounds straight-forward. Not much to it.

WRONG!!!

It sounds simple, but it's not. HoTS is one of a kind MOBA. There are no items! No gold! No gimmicks to help you. Your only resource is TEAM experience. Experience is everything. The only way to get stronger is to level up. Don't waste your sources of experience or you will fall behind on levels and lose the game. Each level makes all your stats and abilities stronger.

Here are the sources of XP in order of importance.
1 Killed lane minions in proximity to heroes.
2 Destroying defense structures.
3 Killing enemy heroes.

Make sure you know how to contribute more with your actions. The action that nets you most xp is usually the best one. Sure we all want to dive in, and spar with the enemy heroes, but sometimes we are stuck sitting in a lane, killing minions. Its boring. I know, I know. Sure. But before level 10, taking out 1 wave of minions is much more impactfull on your game, than killing someone. It will give you bigger advantage. When you press TAB in game the only statistic you should care about is experience contribution.

In many of my previous games, you can see me going in mid lane, with my whole team. And we would start a 20 minute melee 5v5 heroes for the whole time. Meanwhile the other lanes stay unsupervised and 4-5 times as much xp is lost by both teams.

To advance in level faster, NEVER leave a lane with no heroes in it until level 10. That is your main source of xp. All else give you less! You have 5 heroes and 2 or 3 lanes, depending on the map. Have 1 hero per lane, and the rest can roam the map and try to score kills, take mercenary camps est. Even if a fight erupts, your team can get behind the defenses and hold. Don't abandon your lane! The games, where my team has dominated the enemy, and won most decisively, are the once with that exact situation. Sure 5 people can push 3 and your team will lose the fight....eventually! But the time it will take, will let your team get 2, or even 3 levels in advantage. Than when you are 5vs5 heroes, you will dominate the teamfight and keep that advantage the whole game.

The expression "It's our game to lose." exists for a reason.
There are some situations, where a game turns 180 degrees with 1 fight, your team messes up. The way experience is awarded for hero kills is specific.

Lets say you are ahead in levels. Common sense makes you think, that in an exchange, where you lose 1 hero, while the enemy loses 1 hero is even. On the other hand if you kill 2 heroes, but lose 1, it is favorable for you.

WRONG!!!

There is a underdog mechanic. If you are ahead in levels than you are considered stronger. The xp system will award the team, that is at a disadvantage for killing the "stronger" enemy with a lot of xp, because they are the underdog. On the other hand you will get a small xp boost, for killing a "weaker" opponent.

Each level reacquires exponentially more xp to reach, than the previous one. This makes the underdog mechanic even more powerfully. In a 2 for 1 kills exchange, your team might get a small xp boost while the enemy team gets a full level up.

There is a good reason though. Everyone can stomp a couple of bugs, but only few go bear hunting just with their fists, and live to tell the tale. A couple of levels in advantage can make a team much more powerful. Especially if it is a talent tier lavel - 7, 10, 13, 16, 20. Having an extra talent is always huge advantage. When you are ahead, pick your fights only with clear advantage. When you are behind try to fight on even number of talents.

Here are some guidelines when its a good time to start a teamfight:
-You have 1 extra talent than the opponent, especially higher tiers - 10, 13, 16, 20.
-You are behind on levels, but have even number of talents with your enemy - 13vs15, 10vs12...
-When you have hero number advantage - 5vs4, 4vs3...
-You have benefits from map objectives.
-You see a friendly murloc holding a shark, or a tauren dancing. :)
In the opposite situations you should avoid fighting.

Lastly. Keep in mind that in some cases, its better to abandon a map objective, fort or a teammate, instead of starting a fight. There are situations, when you can't win. Newer give the enemy more advantages than they already have.

The most important thing during a game is to do the map objective. No mater what!

WRONG!!!

The point of the game is to kill the enemy core, no mater how, you do it! One of the most common mistakes is not ending a game when you can. If you can win now, don't delay!

Its level 20. You just had a grand fight and wiped the whole enemy team. All they can do is stare at the screen for 50 seconds, while you do anything you want. One of their keeps is down, the path to the core is open.... and you go to gather seeds for a garden teror?! Think about it! At level 20 Thrall can solo the core and kill it! Your goal is not to kill all keeps, or do map objectives. Your goal is to win! If you know you can end-do it. Don't give the enemy the chance to get back in the game. Ever! Or as the con-men say "Newer give a sucker an even chance".

I have had games where a teammate of mine just got the garden terror, or a dragon knight and all he has to do is right-click on the enemy core. Instead they go in another lane to kill a fort. Not a keep even - a fort! In the mean-time our opponents respawn, run across the map and kill our core. Or games when we just spent 10 minutes fighting for 3 tributes on Cursed Hollow, got the curse and instead of pushing a keep, someone had the great idea to race across the map to our Boss and take it, so 1 minute later the curse ends and the boss dies with no damage done. Common seance is not that common it appears.

Every map is different and every situation is different, but always keep asking yourself "Can we end now?", and "What is the best thing to do, to get closer to the win?". I have some tips for all maps, to help you answer that. Read through maps section below for them.
(sorry will add later)

The chat option is there for you to say what you want to your team.

WRONG!!!

Well actually it is, but you have to do it right. Most often the chat is used for someone to vent their anger. That creates tension in the team and not only makes you lose the game, but makes you miserable in the process as well. Blizzard made it so you cant communicate to the other team on purpose! Remember that there is a reason for that.

Its always nice to start a game with "good luck", "have fun" or simply the standard "gl hf". Sets a nice mood. Even if you just ended a miserable game and you are grumpy, just do it. Unless you are a masochist, and want another one like that. No judgement here :).

Communication is the key to success, and the lack of communication is often the reason to lose a game. Communication means to tell your team what you want to do AND for them to understand! It's not enough to voice your intention. Make sure they have heard you. Ping 2 times if needed. Spare 2-3 seconds to type a short massage if you have to. Just do it in your spear time, not in the middle of a fight. I agree that the pen is mightier than the sword, as long as you know, not to try stabbing someone with it.

That doesn't mean you should constantly be typing, instead of playing. Or order people around like a boss. But make your intentions clear. Use the ping system to indicate when you need help. If you are changing position around the map, let your team know. There is no reason for 2 heroes to travel across the map to stop a minion push. If you see a strong push, but your team is unaware ping the position to defend. Indicate that you believe, the other team is taking a boss with a danger sign. Or use it to warn someone they have overextended and will be killed. All it takes is half a second to press "G" and drag the mouse, but help greatly to coordinate your efforts.

If a fight is going on, or an aggressive push of your team is getting too dangerous use the "V" to indicate you think the team should retreat. If you are a caster like Jaina, or a healer such as Rehgar and you run out of mana, tell your team its time to leave. Even "alt-click" your mana bar to tell them why. Do the same with your abilities. Informing the team that E.T.C. has Mosh Pit ready and want's to use it can be vital. Letting them know that Mosh Pit is on cool down, and its a bad time to engage is even more important. There is not many sadder sights, than a rockstar cow dancing alone with the enemy. ;)

Keep the communication civil and don't swear at your team. Everyone has a moment when they want to strangle their teammates for being stupid, once in a while. Remember that, this won't help you, just the other team. The best use of the 40 second it takes your whole team to respawn, is to give a positive message, point out what was done wrong AND how to fix it next time! Keep your message positive. After a comment like "Morales stay behind the tank and don't charge first!", simply put "pls" after instead of "you idiot!!!". Even if it is true, do you think the "idiot" will follow direction when offended?! He will do the opposite :) Keep the tone civil and the others will recognize you are trying to help them.

I have managed to turn around lots of games like that, just because you work together. On the other hand, when someone in my team was constantly a jerk, all I wanted to do is end the game and be done with it. I have managed to win some of those as well, but the feeling is you won despite of your team, not because of them. The frustration is not worth it.

When telling your team they are doing the wrong thing, its best to use the retreat signal "V". If they are too aggressive, going for the wrong objective at the wrong time, starting a fight when they should avoid it ..... The list goes on. Its obvious what you mean, and no one takes it as an offence on their skill.

Listen to your team! Communication is a 2-way process! You cant win the battle with 5 generals and 0 foot-soldiers. Its very, very rare for 1 person to become the obvious leader, and the others to follow. When someone wants to do something, think if it is a good idea. Usually it is, so indicate you are going to help.

"The best thing you can do is the right thing. The second-best thing you can do is the wrong thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing at all." Remember! If your team wants to do something, even tough you know it is wrong, you should still help them. If you split to do your thing you will probably end up dead. Or your team will, because they will have to fight without you. Don't quit. Most games can be turned around. I have wanted to abandon a game too, but that will just discourage your team and ruin their mood further. Its just a game, play it! It's always better to go down swinging, than to sit and watch your team being slaughtered.

Sometimes their will be this 1 person in your team, that will break all I said in the previous chapter. The troll! The person that is playing to lose! You should confront that person openly.

Right!!!

As long as it's done properly!
Its best to ignore people like that. Just stay positive! If they are ignored, there is not much they can do. You probably will have a game 5v4, but when you win one of those it feels nice ;)

At some point ignoring the troll can become impossible. Stay positive. Those cases are usually when the player spends all their time chatting abusively. It might not be a troll at all, just someone who is plain rude and has no respect towards others. Call him on it - bulling is not OK. No, not you E.T.C.!

Still be polite but firm. Don't go down to their level. Point out what they are, and that their behavior is not OK. They are the reason the team is in a bad position, and they are the bad player. That will help your team to come together and ignore the bully. Even if there is a follow up just ignore them, and play as best as you can. Set a positive example to reflect his negative one.

When you feel you should report someone for inappropriate behavior do it after the match! It might not change much, but still its something. Don't tell them, threaten to do it, or ask other people to do it. There is no positive point of that. Also you might want to check the profile of the person you are about to report in the score screen before doing so. It might be a new player, that didn't know better.

Noobing 1-on-1.

Being a "newb" is not an offense!. Don't use it as one, even though many people do. In fact don't use it at all! "newb" means new player, and everyone was a newb at some point. Don't treat someone badly if they are newbs. Just play more carefully around them. If you have more experience, try to stick with them when you can, and help them out. Watch them and indicate when they are in danger or should retreat. Give them some advice while you are re-spawning or even after the match.

Actually the term used most often is "noob" instead of "newb". Witch is meant to be offensive - like saying you play wile a newb on purpose, because you are stupid. It is used to refer to people, that are clearly bad and refuse to learn and improve. Ironically 99% of the time, it is the noobs themselves, that use it to offend other people, blaming them, for their own mistakes. Because those people can't even imagine, that they are capable of being wrong, and accepting they are not perfect is unthinkable. Even though understanding your mistakes is the first step towards improvement.

Differentiate between someone who is intentionally loosing the game, a bad player or a new player. A troll will make the worst decisions possible for their teammates and force them on the team. A Force Wall to trap teammates for example. A bad player will try to make the right decisions, but be unsuccessful. A new player will be mostly passive and try to play as best as possible. They wont engage the team in chat or with pings. The best you can do with bad players and new ones, is offer polite advice to help them improve their play. Don't go overboard, Keep It Short and Simple and hope they appreciate it. If you cant tell the difference treat them as nee players.

Press the advantage.
Basically when you are ahead get more ahead. It means to recognize when you have an advantage and should start a teamfight(already discussed), and when you can use that advantage in another way - destroy a fort, take a boss, secure an objective...

Mitigate the loss.
Recognize when you cant do something, and do something else instead. If you have 2 people down you cant press the objective and win a 3vs5 fight! Do something else that will help negate the loss - take a murk camp, harvest xp, push a lane...

Know why you take murk camps and how to use them. I read somewhere a guide, but can't find it now for some reason, that with murks you use your time now, to buy the enemy's time later. That is the best description in my opinion.
You can use the mercenaries for 3 reasons:
Stall for time while you do something else - get level 10 for example.
Distraction - make the enemy clean the camp, while you do something you couldn't with all enemies there - get the boss perhaps.
Press the enemy when most advantageous - A camp right before an objective will make them split and spend their time to clean in. If they decide not to split the camp will do damage on its own.

A bit about bosses.
Taking one is very dangerous. If you get cough, you will probably get your team killed and lose the boss to the enemy. Go for bosses only if you have killed 1, or better 2 enemies. Or if you know they are all on the other side of the map and cant stop you in time.

Don't waste murks, especially the Boss. Un-escorted murks do next to nothing, while with you pushing they can be great help. A boss alone is a waste, unless you use it as distraction to achieve a bigger advantage. The enemy team will kill a lone boss in 15-20 seconds so It will take a tower or 2 at best.

Team composition maters a lot, and some matches are won, or lost in picking heroes. However!!!

Playing your hero well maters much more. In ranked pick the heroes you can play best, not the ones your team wants to force on you. Explain that your skill with a hero or a role is not high enough, and ask for someone else to change if necessary. Team composition is very important, but maters next to nothing, if the players behind the heroes don't know, what they are doing half the time.

If you managed to read all this, than thanks for spending the time. Please vote and comment.

I plan to improve this in the future if the community feels its useful. I know that its a lot and there is so much more missing, so you might want to take the information in small parts or revisit if new things are added.

See you in the nexus :)